Amnesia (Reaper Ciel)
by ThatCrazyMun
Summary: Sebastian never killed Ciel, he just sort of disappeared and assumed that the Earl would eventually die. Until one day in 2012 (this is a modern AU), he stumbles across Ciel Phantomhive again. Ciel doesn't remember Sebastian in the slightest and, even stranger, he's become a grim reaper! { Possible Sebaciel }
1. Back-Story

**Notice: This is an alternate universe, so nobody go into the reviews and tell me that "this isn't what happened," because I know that!**

**Also: I have a more funny version of this same concept, which you can go check out too. It's not as well put-together, because it's just supposed to be a fun parody, but its worth looking at... *Shrugs***

**Without further delay, enjoy the story!**

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><p>At one point in time, the demon would have considered himself very good at what he did - playing the subservient role of butler, all with the intention of devouring his master's soul. It should have been an easy task, to help a bratty child avenge his parents, but there had been more than one hiccup along the way. The whole agreement had taken far too long to fulfill; long enough that Sebastian had managed to become attached to the young human. He'd denied this attachment for quite a while, but that he only made it worse; before he knew it, their contract was nearly complete…<p>

He'd left. Sebastian Michaelis, one of Hell's most loyal demons, had broken the contract without speaking a word to Ciel about it. He'd simply left, disappearing from the Earl's life in the blink of an eye - at least, that's all the kid would know. He'd watched over him, killed a few problems for him along the way, but kept his distance so that he still appeared to be gone. The child, no doubt, got his revenge, but he never paid the price that Sebastian had originally set out.

So the demon had skipped a meal, so what? He'd tried his hardest to rationalize that it was interest, or maybe just boredom, that had kept him from killing the boy. All the same, Sebastian knew that he'd been lying to himself the entire time. He cared for that stupid, arrogant human enough that it had destroyed his own dinner plans. He resented Ciel for it, despite it being his own fault, and vowed that he would never come into contact with that child again…

So a few hundred years passed, and Sebastian thought that the only remnant of Ciel Phantomhive was the demon's own memories. After all, the child had been human, as mortal as any other. With this knowledge, and the assumption that Ciel Phantomhive had long since met his maker, Sebastian Michaelis was moving on with his life.


	2. I'm Alive!

**Just a quick warning: A baby dies in this chapter. It isn't graphic, but it does happen.**

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><p>It was in the year of 2012 that Sebastian was proved wrong - at least, mostly.<p>

He remembered that day very clearly. The snow-storm filled the air almost as heavily as the Christmas carols did. The upcoming doomsday, predicted by some silly calendar, had the humans in a panic despite the holiday. The winter air was cold, but it hardly had bothered him as he'd walked down the alley that night.

Now maybe he was hungry, or maybe he was lonely, or maybe… there were a hundred different possibilities and, for whatever reason, he denied each and every one of them. Nevertheless, he'd set out with the hope of finding some down-on-their-luck human to sign a new contact with; it would be brief, he'd be sure of that. A quick meal to celebrate this stupid, overly festive holiday - that was all. What he actually found, however, was much different:

As he'd rounded the corner of the alley, Sebastian caught the sound of a small child crying. He'd peeked around, assuming there was a mother or father to accompany the cries; there wasn't. The baby, probably only a year or so old, was curled up in a bundle of blankets, left out in the middle of the snow-storm. The whole sight puzzled Sebastian and, without thinking, he found himself knelt at the child's side; its cries grew weaker and weaker and, despite the demon's concern, he made no move to help it. Maybe half an hour passed before the child's cries became gagging breathes. At last, the scene grew silent.

He'd only just reached out to shut the dead baby's eyes when a voice interrupted his train of thought, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you actually cared about that little maggot." Sebastian's hand had froze, still outstretched towards the child's lifeless body, his mind completely halted by the familiar voice. He turned slowly to face the voice, standing slowly now as his eyes took in the sight of his former master.

There stood Ciel Phantomhive, nearly the same as Sebastian had once seen him - aside from a few crucial things. Even in the dim moonlight of the alley, the demon had no problem seeing that those once-azure eyes were now a sea-green; the blue melted into the emerald shade, like the oceans' water might mix with seaweed. The child was no child now; he'd grown up, though he was still shorter than the butler. The clothes he'd worn in Queen Victoria's time were gone, replaced by dark clothes hidden by a leather jacket, a set of combat boots replacing the dress shoes he'd once wore.

Ciel moved casually to adjust the darkly-tinted glasses he wore, shielding those abstract eyes from the demon's view now. The further Sebastian looked in that brief moment, the more details he latched onto; time itself had seemed to slow with their encounter. A whip was coiled around the former Earl's waist, his other hand resting on its handle as he nodded at Sebastian, speaking once again, "You're in the way, you know." His nose twitched slightly, then scrunched up with either annoyance or disgust as he muttered, "You demons are such emotional creatures."

Completely taken aback by the other's words, something finally registered to Sebastian: Green eyes, glasses, a weapon.. He took a moment to actually process his senses, breathing in the air's scent to confirm his suspicion; his former master, once human, was now a grim reaper.

_**How?**_

Determined to get answers, the butler's words spewed from his mouth before he could consider them, "Ciel, how in the world are you even alive?" There was one crucial thing that the demon hadn't considered, however—

"How the Hell do you know my name, demon?" the reaper asked with a somewhat bewildered look, the snow crunching beneath his boots as he walked towards the demon, then pushed past him. Sebastian watched as the kid snapped his whip, leaving a tiny 'X' across the baby's cheek as he collected the soul, eyes hidden behind his glasses. When he was finished, he coiled the leather weapon back around his waist with a grace that the butler knew Ciel's human self had lacked. Then the boy turned back to face Sebastian, scoffing, "You're still here? Is this one of Grell's stupid games?"

Trying to process the situation, Sebastian knew he was stumbling more than usual; his grace had completely fallen apart into confusion - for the moment, at least. "So you remember your aunt's murderer, but not me? The Hell is your problem?"

"I don't have a bloody aunt," the shinigami spat, shaking his head at Sebastian as he added, "Even if I did, there's no reason in Hell that Grell would even know about her, let alone kill her." Sighing in what was no doubt exasperation, Ciel leaned against the frost-covered bricks of the abandoned building, "He's a co-worker. And you, demon, are wasting my time."

That's when it all clicked in the former butler's mind. It wasn't that Ciel_remembered_ Grell Sutcliff, it was that he _knew_ him _now_. So then, there was no reason for the Phantomhive boy to remember Sebastian at all. He didn't remember his life as a human! Suddenly it all made sense, though there were definitely still pieces missing to the puzzle. Like, how he'd become a grim reaper to begin with, for starters.

Letting out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, Sebastian asked, "You work for the local Dispatch, I take it?" Despite the look Ciel shot his way, the demon insisted, "Just answer me, then I'll leave you alone."

"Yes, I work for the local Dispatch," Ciel snapped, clearly having not learned any patience since his mortal life, "Can I leave now? I've got work to do." Yep, that was definitely the same Ciel Phantomhive in there, just with a few new tricks up his sleeve.

Sebastian knew he was about to sound like a complete idiot, but he was desperate to keep the reaper talking. He grabbed out for something and spit out the first question that came to mind, "So can I assume this whole doomsday thing is—"

"—Bullshit," Ciel cut him off, "Now unless you have something of value to say, I need to get back to work." He didn't wait for a response, but instead started to walk away, pushing past the butler for the second time that night as he added, "And don't you dare follow me."

The embarrassing part was that Sebastian had seriously been considering following the grim reaper. Now, he could still do that, but he wouldn't be able to ask any questions - because the reaper wouldn't know he was there. So as Ciel Phantomhive walked away and the blizzard grew just a touch stronger, Sebastian made his decision.


	3. Sebastian The Stalker

It had been nearly a week since Ciel had met that irritating demon and, as many things were, it had drifted to the back of his memory. It had rattled him a little at first, to find that he'd known the reaper's name, but there wasn't any sense in fretting over it. He had no doubt that, just as he'd nearly forgotten about the demon, the other man had likely already forgotten about him.

His work-days came and went until it was finally Sunday, the one day-off the reaper got regularly; it was only because of the extra hours he picked up on other days that he got this break at all. After some thought, the reaper found himself at one of the local clubs, making an effort to avoid the crowd despite the atmosphere. He'd relaxed into the booth he'd found and sipped at his drink, thoughts wandering from this to that—

Until he spotted something that completely killed his buzz. There was that demon, currently brushing off some girl who'd tried to get him to dance with her, only a couple feet away from where Ciel sat. Sure enough, the demon slipped through the crowd and slunk into the chair across the table from Ciel. Baffled, the reaper asked, "Are you stalking me or something?"

The other male seemed to hesitate, as though he hadn't been prepared for this conversation. Just when Ciel was about to get up and leave, the demon raised his voice to be heard over the club's music, "Maybe." There was a pause as Ciel starred at him, probably looking at the guy as though he'd gone mad, before the demon added, "I"m not sure what I'm doing, to be honest with you."

Shaking his head at that, Ciel turned in his seat to get one of the bartenders attention, ordering another Jack and Coke. He was pretty sure he heard the other ordering something with Vodka, though he wasn't really paying attention. A minute later, their drinks were set on the table between them and Ciel was saying, "Do you have some kind of disorder, demon?"

"What makes you say that?" the reply came before its speaker could think about it, and then it appeared that even he knew it sounded stupid. "Look, Ciel—"

Cutting him off swiftly, the reaper pointed out, "Yeah, you know, it's nice to meet you and all, but who are you?" He took a long drink from his glass, the iced alcohol keeping his nerves down as he added, "And how do you know my name?"

The demon visibly hesitated for the second time that night before answering, "My name is Sebastian Michaelis. I'm a…" The pause was enough to reveal the lie, but Ciel didn't point it out as the other finished with, "I'm a friend of Grell's, that's all. He mentioned you."

"That still doesn't explain why you're stalking me," the shinigami pointed out with a frown, leaning back in his seat. He waited several moments, but Sebastian never replied to the halfway formed question. Sighing, Ciel took another drink from his glass before saying, "You know, your kind usually sicken me, but you aren't… horrible. So…" He shrugged his shoulders, "Stay around and get drunk with me if you want. This is my only day off, so I can't kill Grell until tomorrow anyways."


	4. Grell's Warning

The next morning, Ciel awoke with the knowledge that he'd definitely drank too much the night before. Groaning, he rolled over in his bed, only to groan again - this time in something between frustration and shame, though at the same time, neither. At his side was a demon. Not just any demon, mind you, but the same demon that had—maybe—been stalking him for the past week.

Rubbing his tired eyes, he glanced at his clock to see that he was already running late. Yet another groan escaped his lips, this time in exhaustion, before he said, "Get up, demon. I have to get to work, and you have to get out of here."

Said-demon, who's name was now escaping Ciel's memory, rolled over before sitting up, looking more than a little disoriented. It was rare that demons slept, but when they did, it dulled their senses for a considerable amount of time. "Where in Hell's name—"

"—My apartment," Ciel interrupted, "That's where you are." He paused as he got out of bed, then added, "You need to be anywhere but here, though. The last thing I need is one of my co-workers finding out you were here." For a moment, he just stood there, watching as the demon nodded and got up to get dressed; a good look in the demon's direction revealed that, even though it'd been a demon, it hadn't been a bad score at the club in the slightest…

For the moment, the grim reaper disappeared to take a shower, not bothering to make small-talk with Sebastian—that was his name!—yet.

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><p>After his shower, Ciel found himself treated to a light breakfast that wouldn't make his stomach churn. It was a bit backwards, considering the host usually cooked for the guest, but he didn't protest. The demon didn't eat, but Ciel was able to pick up the tell-tale signs of a hungry predator in Sebastian's eyes; unfortunately, food wasn't any help to their kind. It occurred to the reaper, vaguely, that Sebastian had probably been looking for dinner last night—that is, if he hadn't been stalking Ciel. The younger still couldn't figure out if that was the case or not.<p>

"I really do need to get to work," Ciel announced as he stood from the kitchen table, "I'll… see you around, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders at that, wondering if he had any choice in the matter when it came to this particular stalker.

Sebastian had been leaning against the wall, but now he nodded and slipped out the door along with the home's owner. "You might," he answered vaguely, the tone almost cryptic, and then he was gone.

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><p>After the Phantomhive reaper had done his soul-collecting for the day, he found himself at Grell's apartment, perched on a scarlet sofa. "Alright, so tell me about your day off," Grell began the conversation, thankfully, seeing as Ciel hadn't a clue how to begin.<p>

"Well, I went to the club," Ciel started to explain, instantly gaining his co-worker's undivided attention, "And I met somebody that said he knew you." At this point, he'd decided not to mention when he and Sebastian had first met; the whole thing had seemed far too strange; he didn't need Grell's conspiracy theories to make it any worse.

The crimson reaper clapped his hands together in a show of excitement before asking, "Now, when you say 'met'—"

"—I mean 'took home', yes, spare me the judgement, Grell," Ciel muttered, shaking his head at the feminine reaper. He knew exactly where Grell's mind had went and, for once, he couldn't deny it.

At this point, his co-worker was grinning from ear-to-ear, flashing a set of frighteningly sharp teeth, "Well? How was it?" There was the tiniest of pauses before he amended, "No, first, who was it? You did get his name didn't you?"

For a moment, Ciel was silent, if only to make sure that Grell was finished bombarding him with questions. After a moment, he shrugged, "He said his name was Sebastian." He was about to say more, but then he stopped, because his co-worker suddenly looked like he'd seen a ghost, his skin pale as a dove, emerald eyes wide with surprise. "What?" he asked, confused.

As quickly as the shock had came, it was hidden, Grell shaking his head at it and laughing in a way that seemed fake. "Nothing, kid," he told him, waving a hand dismissively, "I'm just screwing with you. So c'mon, how was it?" He was talking twice as fast as usual, which was almost too fast to understand to begin with.

Trying to shake off the confusion that Grell's reaction had left him with, Ciel couldn't repress the smirk that formed. He had no intention of sharing any of those details with Grell though; that wasn't why he was here. "That isn't the point," he reminded the other reaper, "You know him, right? So—"

"—He screwed up one of my assignments a few years ago," Grell interrupted, "I don't know him that well."

Narrowing his eyes at his co-worker, Ciel pointed out, "You knew him well enough to tell him my name, Grell." There was a growl in his voice now, a snarl forming as he added, "Enough lies."

Abruptly, the other reaper stood from his seat and was motioning towards the door, "You should go, kid, I've got things to do." His emerald eyes were sealed off now as he adjusted his red-framed glasses, turning to walk away as he added, "There are some things that you can't understand, that you aren't supposed to understand, and for that reason… if only for that reason… stay away from Sebastian Michaelis."


	5. Changing With The Times

It had felt like centuries since Sebastian had cooked for the Phantomhive boy, but even after all that time, it had felt like second-nature. He would spend a good part of that morning thinking about what he was supposed to do in regards to Ciel. Not only was Ciel alive and a reaper, but he'd somehow found himself in bed with the shinigami. It was a clear reminder of why the butler hadn't drank alcohol in the younger's company.

But as all things did, the times had changed. It wasn't common to have a butler anymore, nor was it uncommon to get drunk with a perfect stranger. Though Ciel wasn't a stranger to him, Sebastian was a stranger to the former Earl…

It seemed likely that the grim reapers had wiped out any memory Ciel had of his human life. After all, he hadn't remembered Sebastian or Madame Red. As things turned out, it was probably a good thing he hadn't remembered his aunt's death; that would have made for a complicated business relationship with Grell, no doubt. Still… that wasn't Sebastian's problem.

His problem was deciding what to do about the Phantomhive reaper, now that he'd come into contact with him again. The last extended period of time they'd had together had proven ill-fit; the demon had gotten far too attached to somebody that he was supposed to be killing, even if it was at a later date. He hadn't a doubt that he would grow fond of the younger male again if he spent too much time around him… But Ciel was a reaper now, so it wasn't like he'd be killing the divine being at any time in the near future.

The situation would take some time to work out, but Sebastian needed answers before he could make any decisions. Unfortunately, Ciel was about as good for answering these questions as an amnesiac would've been. Who else, then, could Sebastian ask about it? Grell Sutcliff came to mind, but he'd always been a bit childish… The Undertaker wasn't even in the area anymore… William Spears would likely be more of a hindrance than he would be help…

The whole thing was impossible.


	6. The Search

**To everyone asking how Ciel became a reaper: That's something that the story will answer on its own if you keep reading it. There's hints dropped here and there, so you can try guessing if you want; eventually the whole thing will be explained.**

**Everyone the chapter!**

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><p>In the meantime, Ciel was puzzling over the demon that Grell had referred to as Sebastian Michaelis. Little did the scarlet reaper know, his slip of Sebastian's last name had been a mistake. By the next day, Ciel was rummaging through files back at the Reaper Academy, trying to pull up any information he could on that strange demon. Eventually, the secretaries told him to leave; the excuse of 'homework' didn't fly when you'd obviously already graduated.<p>

Onto the Reaper's Library he'd went, but he hadn't expected much to come of that search. The place was filled with Cinematic Records, perhaps even Sebastian's or Ciel's own, but there were people watching even when you didn't think they were. The older reapers came and went as they pleased, taking a book here and there, but Ciel hadn't been granted that privilege yet. After repeatedly failing to find the records he wanted—if only because the Records were organized by species and there wasn't a good excuse for him to look at a demon's or at another reaper's (or his own for that matter)—and decided that he needed to find somebody who had access to those Records.

Every grim reaper had a set group of people that they went to when they needed information they weren't allowed to have. For Ciel, this usually started with Grell, but the crimson reaper had already made it clear that he wouldn't be of help. It wasn't really that Ciel liked Grell, just that the feminine shinigami was easy to manipulate and get information out of. Still, the subject of Sebastian Michaelis had been marked 'Off Limits.' That alone was enough to make Ciel curious about the demon.

So that was one option knocked off the list, but Ciel had other ways. His first, most direct route, was a bad idea waiting to happen. Still, he had to try, because his other options were much less pleasant for himself and required too much outside involvement.

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><p>"I want access to the demons section in the Library," Ciel announced, putting his hands flat against the surface of William's desk as he looked at the older reaper. His sea-green eyes burned with determination as he waited for his boss to respond. There was a quiet moment before he got his answer.<p>

"You don't need access to that department," William told him swiftly, his eyes sharpening underneath his glasses, "Why do you want it?"

Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Ciel forced himself to remain calm as he pointed out, "Other people in our department have access to it, there's no reason why I can't." He wasn't actually sure why he didn't have access to that section in the first place; it was a restricted area, but he'd never given them a reason to distrust him…

His boss pulled him from his thoughts with a brief, "You don't need it, Phantomhive." With that, the reaper seemed to grow bored, gesturing dismissively towards the door, "Get back to work, would you?" Just as Ciel had turned his back, his boss added, "Whatever personal vendetta you have with the demons, forget about it. It's… it's for the best, Ciel."

"Whatever you say, Will," Ciel sighed, thoroughly deflated by the denied request. He'd honestly went into William's office with the expectation to be told 'yes.' Clearly, this wasn't going to be as easy as he'd hoped it would be. So, as he walked out of the building and into the snowy sunset, he decided to make a phone call.

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><p>Ciel's first two plans had been a complete failure. He couldn't get the information without access to the sector, and Will had denied his request to make the necessary changes so that he could be there. So despite his defeat, Ciel had moved on to Plan C: Ronald Knox.<p>

It wasn't a great plan, he'd admit. None of them had been wonderful, but at least they'd been plans. Ronald worked under Grell Sutcliff, and if he took the scarlet reaper's side over Ciel's, Ciel would likely to be in for a thorough berating. It wasn't likely that Grell would report it to their boss, William T. Spears, but if he did… This whole thing could turn into a big fight between the members of the department.

"So, I need you to do me a favor, Ronnie," Ciel was saying as all these things flashed through his mind, leaning forward in his seat at the diner. He'd made last-minute dinner plans with his co-worker that night and, after they'd ordered their food, had decided to get down to business.

Ronald shrugged from his place across the table from Ciel, taking a drink of his wine before responding, "Sure thing, Ciel. What'cha need?" He seemed content with whatever the other reaper had to ask of him, which was a good sign.

"Well," Ciel began slowly, running a finger around the rim of his wine-glass, "I need you to get two books for me, from the library." They were in a public restaurant, so words like 'reaper' and 'cinematic record' had to be translated into something that seemed normal. Nonetheless, Ronnie obviously got the idea.

Leaning forward in his seat, the blond haired reaper told him, "I'll need names, but…" He lowered his tone, "There's not many sectors that I don't have clearance for, so it shouldn't be that hard."

That alone was a relief, to hear that Ronald had no problem checking out the Records for somebody else; it was against the rules, for good reason, but then Ciel hadn't ever been a huge fan of rules. "Can you get into the demons section?" he asked quietly, glancing around to make sure that nobody was eavesdropping.

The startled look on Ronald's face made it clear that he hadn't expected that, but he seemed sincere when he said, "I can get into it, but that's a touchy area in the library. What demon are you looking into?" It would have been one thing for Ciel to be researching a dead demon, but live ones were their own subject entirely; the information was much more sensitive.

"Sebastian Michaelis," he breathed the name, then wet his lips with his tongue before adding, "I met him recently, got fed a few lies. I want to know why he knew my name; I can't figure that out until I know more about him." It was fair enough for Ciel to want information on the demon that had been stalking him recently; he only hoped that Ronald understood that and didn't ask too many questions. The fact that Grell had told him to stay away from Sebastian, and the fact that William had specifically told him to stay out of demonic business, would not sit well with Ronald in the slightest.

Ronnie sighed heavily, and he took a long drink of his wine before shaking his head, "I can't get you that Record."

Ciel's hands balled into fists underneath the table, a glare settling into his eyes as he asked, "And just why the Hell not, Ronnie?" The last thing he'd expected was Ronnie to recognize the name and tell him no. Surely this demon wasn't that important—

"I've seen the name before," Ronald explained, "He's one of the Classified files in the demons section. Even I'm not allowed to look through those Records." The reaper shrugged helplessly as he added, "Sorry, Ciel, unless you get clearance from Mr. Spears there's no way you're getting a look at that book."

The shinigami clenched his teeth in annoyance before forcing a polite, "Spears told me I couldn't look in the demons section at all, Ronnie. You need to get clearance to that book for me—"

"—Ciel, I'm sorry, but I just can't," Ronald told him with a frustrated shake of his head, "It's not gonna happen." There was a tense silence for several moments as the waitress came by with their orders, setting the food down in front of each reaper. They both gave a thank-you, waiting for her to walk away. Once they were alone, Ronald asked, "What was the other one you wanted to see?"

For a moment, all was silent. Wanting your own Cinematic Record made sense, but it wasn't exactly allowed. People could change their own future and their past if they got their Record; it was even worse if they got their hands on the Death Bookmark and its accompanying pen… Pulling himself from his thoughts, he said the only word necessary, "Mine."

"That's—"

"—I know it's against the rules, Ronnie, but I need to know," he nearly growled, "I need to figure out where this Sebastian knows me from before it drives me completely mad."

Ronald shook his head and downed the rest of his wine before telling him, "I'm sorry, Ciel, but this sounds like a bad thing waiting to happen, and I'm not gonna be caught in the middle of it."

Frustrated, the reaper demanded, "There has to be something you can do. Throw me a bone, Ronnie!" Realizing his voice had raised, he flashed an apologetic look at the nearby customers, then turned his gaze back to Ronald. For a moment, it was quiet, both picking at their food anxiously.

Finally, Ronnie broke the silence and said, "Ciel, I can't help you with this, but… maybe I'll drop my clearance card to the library, then it isn't my fault if you find it. They get lost all the time."


	7. Caught

Ciel had gotten Ronald Knox's clearance card without much effort. The blond reaper had simply got up from the table that night and flicked it out of his pocket, onto the check-book for Ciel to pick up. They hadn't spoken after that, but Ciel had been warned that after Friday, the card would be reported lost and its number would be voided.

By Wednesday, Ciel had enough free-time to go back to the Reaper's Library. He slipped into the demons section after they scanned Ronnie's card; if they bothered to check, then they'd probably notice that it wasn't Ciel's number in the system. He was relying on the hope that the secretary wouldn't double-check it. Still, he knew he only had a little amount of time to find Sebastian's Record.

He went straight to the Classified section, hoping Ronnie'd be right about at least that much. It was only a matter of time before somebody else came into the Library, and most people knew who had access and who didn't. Besides, getting out with one of the Classified Records would a lot harder than getting into the section.

At last, the aspiring reaper had found Sebastian Michaelis' Record. It held every tiny detail of the demon's life, right there between his fingertips… But he couldn't read it, not here; he had to get home to do that—-

"Phantomhive," Will's voice made Ciel nearly jump out of his own skin, a gasp catching in his throat as he whirled around to face his boss. Many of the shinigami would say that William Spears had no emotions; they were wrong, however, because it was in that moment that Ciel saw underneath Will's usual shield. His eyes weren't as sharp as usual, instead they were concerned and thoughtful, his lips curled into something that wasn't quite a frown but wasn't quite a purse either… He held out one of his hands, his voice crisp, "Hand it over and we'll let this slide, Ciel."

Against all the self-preservation he knew he should have had, Ciel shook his head, "No, I need it. I have to know—"

Will stepped forward then, showing a grace Ciel hadn't usually thought his boss had. He simultaneously snatched the book out of the other reaper's hands and curled an arm around him; it brought them much closer than Ciel had ever been to the other reaper before. The younger's breath hitched, eyes wide and confused. "Ciel, you must understand," his boss was talking, but Ciel was too shocked to respond, "This is already far more out of hand than you will ever know. I'm already pulling strings because of the mess that demon has caused." He shook his head, voice sharpening, "Yes, he knows your name, but he shouldn't be here. Just… let it go."

And just like that, William slipped back out of the sudden embrace he'd caused, adjusting his spectacles. He shook his head as he put Sebastian's Record back on the shelf and turned away, starting to walk down the hall. "Do us all a favor, Phantomhive," he spoke in that normal, business tone now as he said, "Stop having such a busy social life."

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><p>"I cannot believe you tricked Ronnie into giving you his clearance card," Grell's high-pitched voice snapped as the red-haired reaper paced back in forth in his livingroom. Ciel was perched on the couch, being lectured thoroughly by his co-worker. "I told you to stop meddling with Sebastian Michaelis, but no," Grell fumed, "That would have been too easy for you, wouldn't it? You just had to go nosing around—"<p>

"Wouldn't you want to know how somebody you'd never met knew your name?" Ciel cut him off, his sea-green eyes sharpening with annoyance. "It's my fault if Spears is mad about it, my problem if Ronnie's caught in the middle," he listed off irritably, "It's none of your damned business, Grell!"

The reaper's emerald gaze narrowed as he argued, "Will is my boss, too, so I have to deal with this weird mood you've put him in. And Ronnie works under me, so I have to deal with all the paperwork its caused—"

"—Wait, wait," Ciel interrupted, shaking his head a little, "What weird mood? What are you talking about?" He hadn't been around William long enough to notice any strange behavior, not since their encounter the day before. Besides, this was a good way to distract Grell from lecturing him for the moment.

Sighing dramatically, the scarlet reaper flopped down onto the couch at Ciel's side as he explained, "I don't even know what to call it, really. He's been even colder than usual, and he seems really anxious about something. It's really a mystery this time; Will never gets worried."

He had to admit that it was puzzling, to hear that William was concerned. That paired with his behavior in the Library… It was all a big mess and it seemed like everyone was clued in except Ciel. Whatever was going on, it was bigger than some petty disagreement, and it all revolved around one person:

_**Sebastian Michaelis**_

* * *

><p><em>((So I have no idea how that moment with Ciel and William happened. It's a hint, but it's a really open-ended one, so... have fun guessing what's going on while I continue the story!)) <em>


	8. In Memory

There are hundreds, thousands even, of reasons to summon a demon. Many of these involve what they call contracts, in which you give up your soul for their help in whatever your goal may be. However, a person can make a deal with a demon without selling their soul; these are much shorter and are rarely worth the price the creatures set. Still, when you don't know where a demon is and you need one…

Sometimes you don't have a choice but to summon him and hope you can explain quickly enough. So as the darkness crept around every crevice of his room, nearly choking him, Ciel hissed out the words, "I needed to talk to you. It's important."

Slowly the room's tense air eased and the natural light returned to leave Sebastian standing there, raven feathers falling around his silhouette. "Ciel," he greeted, cocking his head to the side a bit as he spoke, "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting it to be you that called me here." He grew more casual now, leaning against the door and crossing his arms over his chest, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Before that night in the alley, had we met before?" the reaper asked seriously. He had this nagging feeling that he knew Sebastian from somewhere, at some time, but he didn't remember him in the slightest. It seemed strange that everyone else knew about him, had met him, but Ciel didn't and hadn't—

"Yes."

_Had._

Sebastian continued a breath later, "But I won't tell you when or how. You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." He shook his head even as Ciel opened his mouth to protest, "This isn't something that I can explain to you."

For a moment, the shinigami was silent, sorting out his thoughts. If he'd met Sebastian, at some place, at some time, that changed the game. If there was some reason for everyone's concern about this demon, some reason that Ciel didn't remember meeting him… "What can you tell me then?" he asked, "Anything, Sebastian. Just give me something to work with here."

The demon sighed, shutting his eyes for a moment as though in thought before saying, "I can't tell you anything direct." He paused again before carefully adding, "Elizabeth Ethel Cordial Midford. She was just a human; if you can get to her Record, you'll find a place to start."

"Human Records I can get," Ciel was talking more quickly than usual in his excitement, "Thank you, Sebastian." He paused, flustered, before darting in front of the demon and grabbing his shirt, pulling him into a quick, though thorough, kiss. Then he pressed a piece of paper into the creature's hand before saying his goodbye, "Call me, okay? I've got to get out of here and I don't want to have to summon you when there's such things as cellphones." With that, he was gone.

* * *

><p>That Friday, Ciel threw out Ronald Knox's clearance card. He had no doubt the number had been voided when William and Grell had found out anyways, but he'd kept it around until the date specified, just in case. Meanwhile, he'd gotten a chance to go into the Library and pick up Lady Elizabeth Midford's Record. He hadn't any idea why Sebastian thought this human girl's file would be useful to him, but he didn't have any other leads, so it was a start.<p>

What made this lead bad, however, was that it required him having the time to read the file. Which he didn't on Friday, and it wasn't until Saturday night that he finally had settled down in his apartment to read the girl's Record. The infant years he skimmed, doubting they'd be of any importance as he searched for some clue that would make the lady relevant to his search.

When he finally found it, he couldn't believe his eyes:

_Elizabeth Midford was engaged to the human, Ciel Phantomhive._

* * *

><p>A peek at the curtains that covered his window revealed that the sun had already started to come up, marking the end of Saturday night and the beginning of Sunday morning. Despite the crucial point he'd gotten to in Lizzy's Record, he knew he needed to put it down and sleep for a while—<p>

_**Lizzy.**_

The nickname struck him with more force than he thought it would, and he found himself starring down at Elizabeth's name. "Lizzy," he breathed the name, confusion washing over him despite the warmth in his heart. None of this made any sense…

* * *

><p>It was Sunday afternoon, Ciel had woken from his nap and immediately started reading the rest of Elizabeth Midford's life. He'd expected it to take longer to find the information he needed, but only a couple more hours passed in his reading before he'd found exactly what Sebastian Michaelis had, no doubt, knew he'd find:<p>

Elizabeth"s betrothed had went missing and had been presumed dead after several months of searching. The Lady had attended a mock-funeral for her beloved and mourned his death. Thereafter…

Ciel stopped reading as the book fell onto the ground, his hands shaking too much to hold it any longer. This didn't make any sense. Why had Sebastian known about this specific woman, and why did her fiance's name match his own? It seemed so likely that he'd been Ciel Phantomhive, Elizabeth's betrothed, the Queen's watchdog, the Earl of the Phantomhive Manor—

"Damn it, Lizzy," Ciel hissed, his repressed memories fighting against the nostalgia that his mind was trying to cling to. The more he tried to deny it, the more he remembered Lady Elizabeth; her blond curls, her emerald eyes that looked so much like Grell's, her innocent smile… He even remembered the black dress she'd worn to Aunt Anne's funeral—

_Aunt Anne._

**_You remember your aunt's murderer but not me?_**

_Grell… Madame Red… Jack the Ripper._

It was far from a total-recall, but that one part of his memory was suddenly unlocked. He remembered only fragments of that night with Grell Sutcliff, his mind stuck on his aunt's blood being splattered across the scene. He tried to piece together the rest of it, but it was a blur.

Madame Red and Grell had been working together as Jack the Ripper, murdering people… He couldn't remember why, and he didn't remember how he'd gotten involved. The next memory was of Lizzy crying at their aunt's funeral, the rest of that night was too foggy in his memory to make sense of it, and after that his memory went blank again, skipping to his time as a grim reaper...


End file.
